The days of multiple swipes of a MetroCard could be ending, as the MTA plans to replace the card with a new fare payment system. (ROBERTS, FRANCES/FREELANCE NYDN)

The MetroCard is getting closer to going the way of the token.

The MTA has taken its first concrete step into putting the swipe card out to pasture — putting out a solicitation for a "New Fare Payment System."

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The agency's request for proposal says it "is seeking a Systems Integrator to design, furnish, install, test, integrate and implement an account-based new fare payment and collection system based on open bank card payment industry standards that will utilize contactless media, including contactless smart cards and mobile devices."

It plans to first test out the technology on its Select Bus Service, the system of fast bus routes that feature off-board payment and bus-only lanes, according to the RFP document.

Straphangers have many gripes about the MetroCard — it's not very easy to use, it's time-consuming to refill and with cards tossed aside on the ground at subway stations everywhere, it's not environmentally friendly.

With the MetroCard set to retire by the end of the decade, the MTA is looking for a new way for riders to pay for subway and bus rides, and is looking into a system where riders would tap a bank card, smartphone or MTA-issued "smart card" that would deduct the fare from an account.

"The New Fare Payment System (NFPS) will replace the current MetroCard fare payment system for both subway and bus operations," the solicitation says.

The MTA plans to spend $419 million through 2019 on the new fare payment system for NYC Transit, according to its still-unapproved capital program. The agency estimates that it'll be nearly six years between the contract being awarded and its "substantial completion."

Straphangers have their own wish lists for a new system.

London has used contactless payment in the form of the Oyster Card for over a decade. (Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Wendy O'Shields, 55, of Brooklyn, was waiting on line at the Fulton Center station booth to put cash on her MetroCard on Tuesday — a process she said she would not miss.

"If I could do this online, that'd be great," she said, adding that she'd also like a more environmentally friendly way to pay.

"They need to use something that's not so disposable," she said. "I see a lot of these cards on the ground."

The MTA is behind its fellow transit agencies in updating its fare payment technology. London riders for years have tapped their Oyster Cards to pay for a ride on the Tube, while Chicago riders have a Ventra card they can tap to ride.

Riders may not feel the same way about the retirement of the MetroCard as they did about the subway token, which became collectables after they were retired a decade ago. (Carroll, Pat)

Sarah Kaufman, assistant director of the NYU Rudin Center for Transportation, said the MTA's delay could be a boon for riders.

"With technology, the longer you wait, the better the technology gets," she said.

Genevieve Lacey, 23, server, living in the Upper East Side, said ditching the MetroCard would make subway travel easier.

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"It takes forever," she said of the MetroCard. "If you don't get it at the right speed, it'll take three times."

Riders' wish lists include a way to refill MetroCards online, without having to worry about queuing to use the in-station vending machines. (Roberts, Matthew)

Lacey has experience with using the reusable and refillable CharlieCard to tap a ride on the train in her native Boston.

"I liked it. It was easier."

There were skeptics concerned with tracking and the security.

"You could steal a guy's information off a cell phone," said Pierre Acosta, 33, from Harlem, who works at a library.

"There's all kinds of scams."

Others riders were willing to embrace 21st Century technology.

"Swiping your card isn't the most seamless way," said Tyler Yniguez, 23, an engineer in the Upper East Side. "Tap and go would make it so much quicker."